Emerging technologies that could have major impacts on transportation

A recent report by US Volpe experts identifies eleven emerging technologies and innovative applications that may have significant impacts on our transportation systems within three to five years. The report, 2015 OST-R Transportation Technology Scan: A Look Ahead, identifies technological advances and innovative concepts, along with their associated benefits, challenges and risks that could fundamentally alter the transportation landscape:
January 29, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
RSS

A recent report by US 8306 Volpe experts identifies eleven emerging technologies and innovative applications that may have significant impacts on our transportation systems within three to five years.

The report, 2015 OST-R Transportation Technology Scan: A Look Ahead, identifies technological advances and innovative concepts, along with their associated benefits, challenges and risks that could fundamentally alter the transportation landscape:
These include: Additive manufacturing (3D printing); Advanced analytics and machine learning; Automated vehicles; Hyperloop; Infrastructure inspection robots; Innovative concepts for protecting pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists; The Internet of Things; Materials science in infrastructure; On-demand ride services (transportation network companies); Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS); Wireless power transfer.

“Advances in just the past decade have dramatically changed the way Americans travel and deliver goods, and the pace of change is something we cannot dictate,” writes US DOT assistant secretary for research and technology Gregory Winfree in the report’s foreword.

“This is why we must be proactive and look to new technologies that have clear applications for transportation. However, new technologies can also introduce new risks, and we must anticipate the full range of potential impacts.”

The report also notes external factors that could maximise or hinder potential, such as the growing role of data and connectivity, changes to the workforce, and the uncertain impact of these technologies on travel behaviour.

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • June 17, 2022
    Building Europe’s roads for driverless age
    Creating smart, co-operative road transport systems that harness the white heat of technology won’t be easy but a new document shows the way – Andrew Stone does some reading…
    Read More
  • January 15, 2016
    US university investigates smart car tyres
    Researchers at Virginia Tech, Penn State University, and 12 industry partners are collaborating on a US$1.2 million National Science Foundation-funded project to integrate sensors into car tyres, with the aim of providing information on the vehicle’s speed and road conditions. Saied Taheri, an associate professor of mechanical engineering in Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and the director of the Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe), is the project’s lead investigator. Taheri has been working for
    Read More
  • July 31, 2012
    Future of US cooperative infrastructure networks
    Peter H. Appel, the new Administrator of the USDOT's Research and Innovative Technology Administration, on his vision of the US's future cooperative infrastructure networks. Peter H. Appel comes to the post of Administrator of the US Department of Transportation's Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) from a background in transportation-related work which stretches back over 20 years. Most recently with management consultancy A. T. Kearney, Inc., where he focused on busin
    Read More
  • July 6, 2012
    Fleet management systems likely to become standard fitting in the Americas
    According to a new research report, Fleet management in the Americas, from Berg Insight, the number of fleet management systems deployed in commercial vehicle fleets in North America was 2.8 million in Q4-2011. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.9 per cent, this number is expected to reach 5.9 million by 2016. In Latin America, the number of installed fleet management systems is expected to increase from 1.3 million in Q4-2011, growing at a CAGR of 16.6 per cent to reach 2.8 million in 20
    Read More

Highlighted Content